JP2002189699A - Information processing device, log accumulation control device, content distribution control device, and content distribution system using these - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] In a device that provides a user with a history of device operation as log information, the disclosure ratio of the log information is fixed, and the disclosure ratio of the log information is determined by the user according to the use of the user. Setting and changing was not considered. An information processing device such as a home device operated by a user is provided with user instruction information accuracy setting means capable of setting log accuracy and external log information in accordance with accuracy setting information set by the user instruction information accuracy setting means. A user instruction information notifying unit capable of changing a disclosure ratio to a device is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention obtains user instruction information which is a user's operation of a device or selection information determined as a result of the device operation, and can change provided contents, device operation, and provided service according to the user instruction information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a log acquisition system that allows a user to specify log contents to be provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, with respect to a user's operation of an information processing apparatus such as an in-home apparatus or the acquisition of user instruction information which is selection information determined as a result of the apparatus operation, a log is sent to a specific log acquisition apparatus or system. The user performs setting such as providing or not providing according to the log acquisition device. Also, for name information and the like, which are semi-fixed user information other than log information, the user specifies settings such as providing / not providing a specific item of user information according to the log acquisition device. I have.

[0003]

The above-mentioned prior art has a configuration in which log information is designated by a two-way selection of whether or not to provide the log information, and the degree of freedom in the log information provision form is small. For example, 40% of the user instruction information
Cannot be set by conventional technology. Also, on the side that uses the provided log information, it is not possible to specify the accuracy of the log information even for applications where the accuracy of the log information does not require 100% accuracy. There was a problem that it was difficult to use. Further, in the above-described conventional technology, when providing log information, since user instruction information is provided as log information with 100% accuracy, there is a tendency that users who provide log information are limited from the viewpoint of privacy protection. There is a problem that it is difficult for both the user and the log user to use effective log information.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus which allows a user to specify the provision accuracy of log information.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus that obtains user instruction information for other AV devices / home appliances connected to the information processing apparatus and allows a user to set the accuracy of log information provision. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a log accumulation control device capable of efficiently collecting log information provided with various provision accuracy. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of receiving content information including content content information that is content to be transmitted, such as moving images and audio, and content selection information capable of selecting a method of reproducing at least a part of the content content information. In the AV apparatus connected to the apparatus or the information processing apparatus, a method of reproducing content content information is performed based on the obtained user instruction information and content selection information, or log information and content selection information obtained by processing the user instruction information with accuracy information. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device or an AV device that can be determined.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided user instruction information acquiring means for acquiring user instruction information including selection information of content of a user in an information processing device such as a home device,
A user instruction information notifying unit for generating log information in which the obtained user instruction information is restricted according to the log accuracy setting and notifying the log information to an external device is provided. The log accuracy setting is set by the accuracy setting information output from the user instruction information accuracy setting means for designating the disclosure ratio of the user instruction information to the external device. Further, there is provided means for controlling the user instruction information notifying means in accordance with the accuracy setting information output from the user instruction information accuracy setting means capable of setting the log accuracy by the user. The log information restricted by the setting information can be notified from the user instruction information notification unit to the external device, and the user can specify the log information provision accuracy to the information processing apparatus.

Further, according to the present invention, log storage means capable of classifying log information into at least two or more log information by accuracy according to the corresponding log accuracy information and storing the log information is provided. As a result, the collected log information can be stored and referenced individually according to the accuracy classification, and the log information provided from the information processing device with various log accuracy can be efficiently collected and managed.
Further, according to the present invention, the AV function control means in the information processing apparatus for reproducing the content or the AV equipment connected to the information processing apparatus provides the content according to the user instruction information and the content selection information or the log information and the content selection information. A selection information processing means capable of determining a content information reproduction method and a reproduction means capable of selecting and changing a content content information reproduction method according to a selection notification from the selection information processing means are provided. As a result, it is possible to selectively reproduce content content information based on user instruction information or log information and content selection information.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the system configuration of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an information processing device such as a home device, which will be described below as a home device, and FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an operation example of a home device. , FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a log accumulation control device, FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a content information sending unit, FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of an AV function control unit in a home device, and FIG. 10 shows a format of content information. Content information data structure diagram,
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of accumulated user instruction information generated from user instruction information, and FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user input screen provided by a user instruction information accuracy setting unit in the home device.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 113, 114, and 115 denote home devices having AV function control means, which are placed in offices, homes, rooms in homes, and the like. In this embodiment, the in-home devices 113, 114, and 115 have a function of reproducing or recording / reproducing content information from the content distribution control unit 101, and are connected to a display device such as a TV. 1
Reference numeral 01 denotes a content distribution control unit including a distribution unit 105, a content management unit 106, and a content recording unit 107; 102, a group of content reception devices including a plurality of home devices; 103, an accumulation unit 118, a log recording unit 119;
A log accumulation control unit 104 including a log distribution unit 120 and a log operation unit 104 including a log acquisition unit 127 and a content information transmission unit 129.

The function and operation of each component of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to a functional block diagram. FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the in-home device. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes an AV function control unit having a function of reproducing or recording / reproducing content information. It notifies the user instruction information acquisition means as instruction information. Reference numeral 202 denotes a user instruction information acquisition unit that can acquire user instruction information and hold user instruction information or user instruction characteristic information indicating characteristics of the user instruction information as accumulated user instruction information. The user-instruction feature information includes, for example, the occurrence of selection switching of each piece of content information and the time information at which the selection switching occurred from the user instruction information, and the cumulative viewing time for each piece of content information calculated based on the information. . 203 turns on the output of the user instruction information according to the notification control information 210
A user instruction information notifying unit that can output the ON / OFF control result of the user instruction information as log information; and 205, a user instruction information accuracy setting for setting the accuracy of the log information by the user. Means 204, a user instruction information notification control means for performing switching control of the user instruction information notification means 203 according to the log accuracy information, and 212, log information 213 and user instruction information notification control means 2 output from the user instruction information notification means 203
It is a log accumulation and transmission unit that accumulates and transmits the log accuracy information 214 output by the apparatus 04 or occasionally transmits it.

In this embodiment, the user instruction information notifying unit 203 is configured to notify the user instruction information. However, the configuration may be configured to notify the user instruction characteristic information.

Although the information processing apparatus will be described as an in-home apparatus, the information processing apparatus can be similarly implemented as an apparatus outside the house.

The operation of the home device will be described below with reference to FIG. The user operation 206, which is a user operation on the AV function control means 201, is performed by the AV function control means 201 such as selection of content, which is used for a predetermined AV function-related setting according to the user operation.
1 designates user operation information 2
08 is notified. The user instruction information acquiring unit 202 generates the user instruction information 209 from the user operation information 208 and notifies the user instruction information notifying unit 203 of the generated user instruction information. The operation of the user instruction information notifying unit 203 will be described with reference to FIG. The user instruction information accuracy setting unit 205 notifies the user instruction information notification control unit of the accuracy setting 207 set by the user as accuracy setting information 211. The example of FIG. 3 shows a case where the accuracy information is set to 40% by the user operating a setting screen as shown in FIG. 12, for example. In response to this, the user instruction information notification control unit 204 generates the notification control information 210 shown in 210 in FIG. 3 having a ratio of the period of “H” and “L” of 40:60. The period of this signal is not particularly limited, but is assumed to be, for example, an hour period. In the user instruction information notifying unit 203, the notification control information 2
When 10 is “H”, the user instruction information 209 is
13, and outputs “L” (“no information”) as the log information 213 when it is “L”. This log information 21
3 is notified as log information 116 to the log accumulation control unit 103 via the log accumulation transmission unit 212. The log information output by the log accumulation transmitting means 212 is shown at 116 in FIG. For the entire log information, 40% specified by the user accuracy setting transmits the log information obtained from the user instruction information based on the actual user operation, and transmits the remaining 60% by masking the user instruction information. You can see that it is not.
As a result, the log information 116 includes user instruction information corresponding to the desired log accuracy set by the user.

As described above, according to the in-home device of this embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the accuracy of the log information can be changed according to the log accuracy setting set by the user. In the present embodiment, the home device is configured to be realized by hardware such as a CPU and a memory and software such as a program and data. However, a part or all of the functions of the home device are processed by another information processing device such as a PC. A configuration that can be realized as software operating on the device or a system that can be realized as software operating on another information processing device connected via a network and only the input / output function is processed by the in-home device, etc. The method for implementing the function is not particularly limited.

The operation of the log accumulation control unit will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 118 denotes an integrated device capable of receiving log information and log accuracy information from at least two or more home devices, and 701 denotes log information 121 collected by the integrated device.
Means for recording at least two storage means according to the log accuracy information 122 in accordance with the log accuracy information 122, 702, 703, and 704 storage means such as a hard disk, 119, storage means specifying means 701, and storage. Means 7
The log recording apparatus 120 includes the log accuracy designation information 124, which is the notification information for designating the log accuracy, to the storage means designation means 701, and the corresponding precision-specific log information 123. This is a log distribution device that can be acquired from the means 701 and can transmit the acquired accuracy-specific log information 123 to the log acquisition means.

In the log accumulation control unit shown in FIG. 7, log information 12 transmitted from at least two or more home devices is provided.
1 and the log accuracy information 122 are received by the accumulation device 118 and notified to the storage device designation unit 701 in the log recording device 119. In the recording means designating means 701, for example, the log accuracy is set to 0% or more and less than 50%,
The log accuracy classification including two classes of% or less is set, and the log information corresponding to each log accuracy classification is recorded in different storage means for each log accuracy classification. As a result, log information can be recorded for each accuracy classification. The recorded log information for each log accuracy classification is transmitted to the log distribution device 120 as accuracy-specific log information 123 in accordance with the log accuracy designation information 124 of the log distribution device. Thus, for example, when there is a request from an external log acquisition unit to provide log information with accuracy of 50% or more and 100% or less, the above-described operation of the log distribution device enables the log by accuracy corresponding to the desired log accuracy classification. The information can be obtained by the log obtaining means.

As described above, according to the log accumulation control unit of this embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the log information transmitted from at least two or more home devices is classified according to accuracy, and the log information acquisition request by accuracy of the log acquisition means is obtained. Accordingly, the log information of the corresponding accuracy classification can be notified to the log acquisition unit. In this embodiment, the log information for each accuracy is recorded in different storage means in FIG. 7, but it is also possible to store the log information in different areas of a single storage device. The method of recording information is not particularly limited. Further, in the present embodiment, the log information according to the accuracy is classified and recorded at the time of receiving the log information. However, the log information is recorded together with the log accuracy information, and the log information corresponding to the specified accuracy classification is searched at the time of transmission. A configuration for transmitting the log information is also possible, and the method of performing the classification of the log information by accuracy is not particularly limited. Further, in the present embodiment, the corresponding log is always recorded in the storage means. However, for example, when an upper limit capacity of the log to be obtained is provided, and when log information exceeding this capacity is stored, the old log information is used. Can be deleted, and the management method of the acquired log information is not specified.

Further, in this embodiment, the log acquisition means can acquire the log accuracy classification of the log information managed by the log recording device by any means, and the log accuracy designation information is notified according to the log accuracy classification. However, a configuration is also possible in which arbitrary log accuracy designation information is notified and an optimum log accuracy class is determined in the log recording device. Further, in this configuration, it is also possible to notify the log acquisition device of the log accuracy classification determined by the log recording device, the format and notification method of the log accuracy designation information, and the log information by accuracy to be transmitted as a result of the log accuracy designation information. The method of determining / notifying is not particularly limited.

The operation of the content information sending means of the log management unit will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, 80
1 is a content information input unit capable of acquiring content information from outside, 801 is a content information storage unit capable of storing the content information acquired by the content information input unit 802, and 803 is capable of transmitting the stored content information to the content distribution control unit Content transmission means.

As described above, according to the content information sending unit 129 in the log operation unit 104 of FIG. 8, the content information automatically / manually generated based on the log information for each accuracy acquired by the log acquisition unit 127 of the log operation unit 104 804 can be sent to the content distribution control unit 101 via the content information sending means 129. In the present embodiment, FIG.
Although the content information is sent to the content distribution control unit via the content information sending means of the above, the content information is sent via other dedicated / general-purpose communication means, and the content information is stored in the storage medium, and the content information is stored in the storage medium. The method of transmitting the content information, such as the method of transmitting the medium on which is recorded, is not particularly limited.

Next, the operation of the AV function control means of the home device will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a receiving unit capable of receiving content information 111 including content content information and content selection information 112;
Is a separating unit capable of separating content content information and content selection information from content information, 903 is a content content information reproducing unit, and 904 is a content content information reproducing method that can be specified according to the content selection information and the stored user instruction information 215. Selection information processing means.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the structure of content information.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of the stored user instruction information. Figure 9
In the AV function control means, the receiving means 901 can acquire content information having the configuration shown in FIG. The acquired content information is separated into content content information 1002 and content selection information 1003 by a separating means 902, and the content content information 1002 is reproduced by a reproducing means 903.
In addition, the content selection information 1003 is
04 is notified. Examples of content selection information include:
“If the viewing frequency of the program P or the program R is three or more times, select the class A content information, otherwise select the class B content information” (condition 100
3). In this case,
The selection information processing unit 904 stores the stored user instruction information 1101
And a method of reproducing the content content information 1002 from the content selection information 1003. The content selection information is information common to each in-home device, but the stored user instruction information has information unique to each in-home device according to a user operation, and the content content information reproduced as a result is in each in-home device. It can be changed according to. For example, when the stored user instruction information of a certain in-home device is the information shown in FIG. 11, the selection information processing unit 904 determines the class A content information 1 based on the condition 1003 and the stored user instruction information shown in FIG.
005 is instructed to the reproducing means 903. Thus, the reproducing unit 903 reproduces the common content information 1004 and the class A content information 1005.

In the present embodiment, the method of reproducing the common content information and the class-specific content information is as follows.
Although the content information for each class is reproduced after the reproduction of the common content information, for example, the common content information is used as video information, the content information for each class is used as audio information, and the common content information and the content information for each class are simultaneously used. A configuration for reproduction, a configuration having a plurality of common content information, and a plurality of class-specific content information belonging to the same class are also possible, and the configuration and the reproduction method of the content information are not particularly limited.

In the embodiment, the content selection information has a correspondence between a specific condition and a class to be reproduced. However, the content selection information has a selection condition corresponding to the user instruction information, and the content selection information includes the user instruction information. When the information condition matches the stored user instruction information possessed by each in-home device, a configuration of selecting content information of a corresponding class is also possible, and the selection method and the description method of the content selection information are not particularly limited. .

In this embodiment, the user instruction information obtained from the user operation is processed and stored as information called the viewing frequency for each program as the stored user instruction information. Is not particularly limited. Further, a configuration in which the user instruction information is stored as it is without processing, or a configuration in which the user instruction information is stored as possible and necessary processing is performed at the time of selecting content information for each class according to the content selection information is also possible. The user instruction information to be stored, the presence / absence of processing of the user instruction information, and the processing execution timing are not particularly limited.

As described above, according to the home device having the AV function control means of this embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the content information reproducing method can be selected and changed according to the user instruction information stored in each home device. Thus, distribution and reproduction of content according to each user using the home device can be performed.

Next, the operation of the log acquisition system including the above-described home device, log accumulation control unit, log operation unit, and content distribution control unit will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, home devices 113, 114, and 115 have AV function control means 201, and can reproduce or reproduce / record content information. User instruction information consisting of operations such as selection of content information and reproduction / recording of content information,
The log information is transmitted to the log accumulation control unit 103 as log information according to the log accuracy set by the user. Log accumulation control unit 10
In step 3, based on log information and log accuracy information sent from at least two or more home devices, log information is recorded as accuracy-specific log information for each of at least two or more accuracy classifications according to the log accuracy classification. The log acquisition units 127 and 130 of the log operation unit 104 can specify the log accuracy and acquire desired log information from the log accumulation control unit. Further, the log operation unit 104 automatically and manually creates content information from the at least one or more accuracy-based log information acquired, and transmits the content information to the content information sending units 129 and 13.
2 can be sent to the content distribution control unit 101. The content distribution control unit 101 manages the content information using the content management unit 106, and distributes the content information to the home devices 113, 114, and 115 using the distribution unit 105. The in-home devices 113, 114, and 115 can selectively reproduce the received content information according to the stored user instruction information and the content selection information included in the content information.

According to the present embodiment, the accuracy of the log information to be sent in sending and disclosing the user instruction information generated based on the user operation that can be acquired in the home device to an external means such as a log accumulation control unit is described. It is possible for the user to make settings using the home device. According to the present embodiment,
In the log accumulation control unit, various types of log information according to the user's log accuracy setting that differs for each home device can be organized by accuracy classification and accumulated. Further, it is possible to provide desired log information for each accuracy to the log operation unit according to the log accuracy specification of the log operation unit. As a result, the log operation unit does not acquire log information exceeding the required log accuracy, and the operation efficiency of the log information is improved. Furthermore, in the content information creation of the log operation unit, it is possible to create and send content information including content information for each user segment based on the accuracy-based log information.

The content information created by the log operation unit is:
It is sent to the content distribution control unit. The content distribution control unit acquires and manages this and distributes it to the home device. As a result, the content information can be changed according to the user segment, and the operation efficiency of the content information is improved.
Also, the user can obtain desired content information. In the present embodiment, the content information sent by the log operation unit is configured to have content information selection information. However, a configuration in which content information having no content selection information is sent is also possible. The format and contents of the content information to be sent are not particularly limited.

In this embodiment, the content distribution control unit is configured to distribute the content transmitted by the log operation unit. However, the content distribution control unit distributes other content information or the content information transmitted by the log operation unit and the other content information. May be mixedly distributed, and the source of the content information or the content and the transmission route of the content information are not particularly limited. In this embodiment, the log operation unit has a log acquisition device and a content information sending unit.However, the log operation unit has only a log acquisition device. Record
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the log operation unit has only the content information sending unit by using another transmission method such as mailing, and the configuration of the log operation unit is not particularly limited to the configuration of the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the content distribution control unit is configured to distribute the content transmitted by the log operation unit. However, it is also possible to distribute content information created by a device other than the log operation unit. The production method and configuration are not particularly limited. In the log accumulation control unit of the present embodiment, the log information is managed according to the log accuracy classification. However, the log information may be recorded and managed for each log accuracy information. The management method does not particularly limit this.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the home device. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 403 denotes a user-instruction-information-accuracy setting unit for setting accuracy of log information by a user;
Reference numeral 402 denotes a user instruction information notification control unit that performs switching control of the user instruction information notification unit 401 according to log accuracy information, and 401 switches output of the user instruction information and output of the pseudo information generation unit 404 according to the notification control information. A possible user instruction information notifying means, a user instruction information notifying means capable of outputting a switching control result as log information, and a pseudo information generating means 404 capable of generating pseudo user instruction information.

The pseudo information generating means 404 generates pseudo user instruction information which is information of a pattern similar to the user instruction information. As an example of the generation method, a method of randomly extracting log information transmitted in the past at regular intervals and connecting the log information to generate pseudo user instruction information can be used.

The operation of the in-home device of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. The user instruction information 209 notifies the user instruction information notification control unit 406 of the accuracy setting information 405 according to the accuracy setting set by the user via the user instruction information accuracy setting unit 403. The user instruction information notification control unit 406 generates notification control information 406 having an “H” “L” ratio according to the accuracy. For example, when the accuracy setting information has an accuracy of 40%, notification control information in which the ratio between “H” and “L” is 2: 3 is generated. The period is arbitrary, but is set to 30 minutes in this embodiment. In response to the notification control information 406, the user instruction information notifying unit 401 outputs the user instruction information during the "H" period and the pseudo user instruction information as the log information during the "L" period. As a result, it is possible to always generate some kind of log information and generate log information including only 40% of the user instruction information based on the actual user operation. According to the in-home device of the present embodiment, it is difficult to identify the user instruction information and the pseudo user instruction information included in the log information, and the privacy protection of the user with respect to the log information can be strengthened. In the present embodiment, as a method of generating the pseudo user instruction information, the past log information is used. However, the method of generating the pseudo user instruction information is not particularly limited.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the home device showing the configuration of the home device of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, 60
3 is for the AV function control means outside the home device,
A user instruction information acquiring unit capable of acquiring a user operation and notifying the stored user instruction information by any communication means such as a wired / wireless communication; 607, a pseudo information generating means;
Reference numeral 04 denotes a user instruction information notification unit, 605 denotes a user instruction information notification control unit, 606 denotes a user instruction information accuracy setting unit, and 615 denotes a log accumulation transmission unit. Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. AV function control means 60
Reference numeral 1 602 denotes an external device independent of the in-home device 620, and has a configuration in which communication with the in-home device can be always or appropriately performed by wired / wireless communication means. The user operation on the AV equipment control means is performed by the AV equipment control means via the communication means.
Notify. The process of generating the user instruction information from the user operation acquired by the user instruction information acquisition unit 603 is the same as in the previous embodiment, and the description is omitted here. Further, the acquired stored user instruction information is notified to an external AV function control unit by the user instruction information acquisition unit 603.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the user operation on the AV function control means (AV equipment) outside the home device can also be acquired by the home device, and the degree of freedom of the user's use of the device is improved. Furthermore, by notifying the stored user instruction information from the home device to the external AV function control means, the external AV function control means can also selectively reproduce the content information using the stored user instruction information. . As a result, the content information can be selectively reproduced even when a plurality of AV function control means are used at the same time, so that the usability of the user is improved.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is an embodiment showing a configuration in which content information does not have content selection information. FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of the log collection system of this embodiment. In FIG. 13, 1310 · 13111 · 1
312 is a home device, 103 is a log accumulation control unit, 1303
Denotes a log operation unit, and 1304 denotes a content distribution control unit. In the present embodiment, the log information acquisition / sending operation of the in-home device and the log accumulation / delivery operation of the log accumulation control unit are the same as those in the previous embodiment, and the description is omitted here. The in-home device can reproduce content information having no content selection information distributed from the content distribution control unit, and transmits user instruction information such as a user's content selection operation or in-home device operation in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. After performing conversion according to the accuracy, the log accumulation control unit 103
Can be sent to The log accumulation control unit 103 manages log information and log accuracy information acquired from the home devices 1310, 1311, and 1312 as accuracy-specific log information. In the log operation unit 1303, the log acquisition devices 1301 and 130
2 is obtained from the log accumulation control unit. Content distribution control unit 1304
Then, the content information stored in the content storage device 1308 is stored in the content management device 1307 and the distribution device 13.
05 to the home device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the log operation unit acquires log information for each accuracy, and it is possible to provide various services and products based on the log information. As for content distribution, distribution of common content information without content selection information and acquisition of log information based on user instruction information regarding viewing of the content information can be performed.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of the log collection system of this embodiment. This embodiment is an embodiment showing a system form for distributing content selection information via a communication path other than the content distribution means. In FIG. 14, reference numeral 1406 denotes network communication means such as the Internet or a dedicated line; 1402 and 1404 communication means capable of transmitting content selection information to a home device via the Internet; 1407, 1408 and 1409 content via the network means 1406; This is a home device capable of acquiring selection information. The log accumulation control unit 103 performs the same function and operation as the log accumulation control unit of the previous embodiment, and the operation is not particularly described here.

In the log operation unit 1405, content information is created based on accuracy-based log information acquired by the log acquisition devices 1401 and 1403. Using the notification means 1402 and 1404, the created content information is notified to the home device via the network means 1406 regarding the content selection information among the content information. The content information other than the content selection information is sent to the content distribution control unit 1410, and the content distribution control unit 1410 sends the in-home devices 1407, 1408, and 1409.
Will be delivered to Home devices 1407, 1408, 1409
Then, based on the content selection information obtained via the network means 1406 and the content content information distributed from the content distribution control unit 1410, the content information is selectively reproduced / recorded according to the storage user instruction information. It becomes possible.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the content selection information can be distributed via a network route different from the content content information. Therefore, it is not necessary to send the content content information and the content selection information at the same time, and the degree of freedom in sending the content information is improved. Further, the content selection information for the same content content information can be changed by retransmitting only the content selection information to the home device. Furthermore, it is possible to prepare a plurality of pieces of content selection information to be transmitted and change the content selection information to be distributed according to the in-home device. Thereby, the content information reproduced based on the content selection information can be changed according to the in-home device, and the degree of freedom in the content distribution content is improved.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of the home device of the present embodiment. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1502 denotes an AV function control unit which is connected to the in-home device constantly or as needed via a wired or wireless communication unit;
Reference numeral 03 denotes a home appliance such as a refrigerator or a washing machine which is connected to the in-home device through a communication means such as a wired or wireless communication constantly or as needed, and 1504 denotes AV function control means 1501 and 150.
2 and a user instruction information acquisition unit capable of acquiring information on a user operation and a user instruction on the home appliance 1503. Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The operation and selection information of the user on the home appliance 1503 are acquired by the user instruction information acquiring unit 1504,
The log information is transmitted to the log accumulation control unit together with the log accuracy information as a part of the log information. For example, setting the log accuracy to 40%
In this case, 40% of the user instruction information that can be obtained from the operation on the home appliance 1503 can be transmitted as log information.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the log accumulation control unit can provide the log operation unit with accuracy-based log information on home appliances. Further, in a configuration in which the content information includes the content selection information, the selection condition of the content selection information includes an instruction of a content reproducing method according to a result of the stored user instruction information to the home appliance, thereby enabling home electric appliance. It is possible to change the reproduction content of the content according to the operation of the device. For example, a usage method of acquiring the number of times of opening and closing of a refrigerator as log information and, when the number of times of opening and closing is equal to or more than a certain number, distributing advertising content of the refrigerator with a suppressed rise in temperature during opening and closing becomes possible.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to expand the target of log acquisition to home electric appliances other than the AV function control device. Accordingly, in addition to the operation of the AV function control device, it is possible to acquire a log based on an operation on a home appliance, selectively reproduce content information according to accumulated user instruction information, and the like. In this embodiment, the AV function control device and the home electric appliance are mixed, but a configuration in which only the home electric appliance is connected to the home device can be used. This is not stipulated.

[0044]

According to the present invention, by providing a user instruction information accuracy setting means, a user instruction information notification control means, and a user instruction information notification means in an information processing apparatus such as an in-home apparatus, the provision accuracy of log information can be reduced. Can be specified, and the degree of freedom for the user to disclose the log information is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing storage means designating means or storage area designating means in the log accumulation control section, it is possible to efficiently collect, classify, and manage log information provided with various provision accuracy. Thus, it is possible to provide log information with necessary log accuracy to the log operation unit. Thereby, the operation efficiency of the log information is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, by providing selection information processing means in the AV function control means inside or outside the information processing apparatus, the acquired user instruction information and content selection information or user instruction information can be transmitted. The method of reproducing the content information can be changed based on the log information and the content selection information processed with the accuracy information, and the content can be distributed and reproduced according to each user who uses the information processing apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an in-home device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a home device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an in-home device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a home device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of an in-home device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a log accumulation control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a content information sending unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of AV control means according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a content information data structure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of accumulated log information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an accuracy information user input screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Content distribution control unit 102 Content receiving device group 103 Log accumulation control unit 104 Log operation unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/173 640 H04N 7/173 640 (72) Inventor Tetsuo Shinagawa 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Media Development Division (72) Inventor Tomoya Ozaki 292, Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Media Development Division (72) Inventor Hiromichi Ito Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 292 Yoshidacho Digital Media Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B075 ND20 NR12 PQ02 5B085 AC14 BG07 5C064 BA07 BB10 BC18 BC25 BD03 BD08 BD09 BD13

Claims (14)

[Claims] A user instruction information acquiring unit for acquiring user instruction information including selection information of a user content; a user instruction information notifying unit for notifying the user instruction information to an external device; and an external device of the acquired user instruction information. User instruction information accuracy setting means for designating a disclosure ratio to the user instruction information accuracy setting means, controlling the user instruction information notifying means in accordance with the accuracy setting information of the user instruction information accuracy setting means, and setting the user instruction information to the accuracy setting information An information processing apparatus for transmitting the log information restricted in step (1) to an external device from a user instruction information notifying unit. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein log information obtained by restricting the user instruction information with accuracy setting information is transmitted to an external device together with log accuracy information generated based on the accuracy setting information. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the AV function control includes any one of a broadcast-type content receiving function, a storage-type content reproducing function, a content recording function, and an Internet access function. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a unit; and at least a part of the user instruction information is device operation information or content selection information for the AV function control unit. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: pseudo information generation means capable of generating pseudo user instruction information, wherein said user instruction information is acquired in accordance with said accuracy setting information. An information processing apparatus, wherein the user instruction information acquired by the means is replaced with the pseudo user instruction information. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit capable of storing a part of log information or log accuracy information to be transmitted to an external device, and An information processing apparatus for transmitting log accuracy information to an external device. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said user instruction information acquiring means acquires user instruction information from an external AV device having an AV function control means independent of the information processing apparatus. Information processing device. 7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said user instruction obtaining means obtains user instruction information from home electric appliances independent of the information processing apparatus. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content information includes content content information and content selection information designating a reproduction method of at least a part of the content content information. An information processing apparatus, wherein a method of reproducing content content information is determined according to content selection information and user instruction information. 9. The user instruction information including the user's content selection information is limited by accuracy setting information for specifying a disclosure ratio of the user instruction information to an external device, and is used as log information based on the accuracy setting information. A log accumulation control device that is transmitted together with the generated log accuracy information, comprising: an accumulation unit that receives and accumulates the transmitted log information and the log accuracy information; and at least an individual log information according to the log accuracy information. A log accumulation control device, comprising: a log storage unit that records two or more pieces of log information according to accuracy. 10. The user instruction information including the user's content selection information is limited by accuracy setting information for specifying a disclosure ratio of the user instruction information to an external device, and is used as log information based on the accuracy setting information. A log accumulation control device that is transmitted together with generated log accuracy information, comprising: an accumulation unit that receives and accumulates the transmitted log information and log accuracy information; and a log storage unit that records the log accuracy information and log information. And a log accumulation control device for generating log information according to accuracy specified based on log accuracy specification information requested from the outside and transmitting the generated log information to the outside. 11. An information processing apparatus, wherein user instruction information including selection information of a user content is limited by accuracy setting information for specifying a disclosure ratio of the user instruction information to an external device, and transmitted as log information. Content selection information for specifying a method of reproducing content content information based on information; content recording means for storing content information composed of the content content information; and content for selecting content information recorded in the content recording means A content distribution control device, comprising: a management unit; and a distribution unit that transmits selected content information to the information processing device. 12. The user instruction information including the content selection information of the user is limited by accuracy setting information for designating a ratio of disclosure of the user instruction information to an external device, and log information is based on the accuracy setting information. An information processing device that transmits the generated log accuracy information together with the log accumulation control device, and receives and accumulates and records the transmitted log information and the log accuracy information, and is designated based on the required log accuracy designation information. The log accumulation control device that generates and transmits accuracy-specific log information, and content selection that specifies a content content information generated based on the accuracy-specific log information transmitted from the log integration control device and a reproduction method of the content content information Accumulating content information comprising information, selecting the stored content information, and storing the selected content information in the information processing Content distribution system characterized in that it is constituted by said content distribution control device for transmitting to the location. 13. A user instruction information acquiring means for acquiring user instruction information including selection information of a content of a user, a user instruction information notifying means for notifying the user instruction information to an external device, and an external device of the acquired user instruction information. User instruction information accuracy setting means for designating a disclosure ratio to the user instruction information accuracy setting means, controlling the user instruction information notifying means in accordance with the accuracy setting information of the user instruction information accuracy setting means, and setting the user instruction information to the accuracy setting information An information processing device for transmitting the log information restricted by the above, together with log accuracy information generated based on the accuracy setting information, from the user instruction information notifying unit to the log accumulation control device; and transmitting the transmitted log information and log accuracy information. It has an accumulation means for receiving and accumulating, and a log storage means for recording the log accuracy information and the log information. The log accumulation control device that generates and transmits the log information according to accuracy, and designates the content information generated based on the log information according to accuracy transmitted from the log accumulation control device and a reproduction method of the content information. Content recording means for storing content information including content selection information; content management means for selecting content information recorded in the content recording means; and distribution means for transmitting the selected content information to the information processing apparatus. And a content distribution control device having the following. 14. A log acquisition device according to claim 13, wherein said log accuracy designation information is transmitted to said log accumulation control device, and log information according to accuracy transmitted from said log accumulation control device is received. And a log operation device comprising: a content information transmitting unit that transmits content content information corresponding to the received log information according to accuracy to the content distribution control device.